Space Walk: Rosette Nebula

The Rosette Nebula, NGC 2237 et al., is a very large nebula in the constellation Monoceros, the Unicorn. This is to the east, or left of Orion in the northern hemisphere winter sky, and is a rather dim constellation, not well known. We'll use low power on this one because it is so large. It can even be seen with binoculars from darker skies. A narrowband filter is useful to see the nebulosity much better, as it is so large, the surface brightness can easily fade into the sky glow.

Link to the mp3 audio file. Download the file to the device you will be using to listen to it in the field.

Rosette Nebula Space Walk Among the Stars - audio

Images of the Rosette Nebula taken by amateur astronomers. Remember that you won't see anywhere near this level of brightness or detail in the nebulosity, and no color visually.

Charts to accompany the Space Walk. Review these prior to observing with your telescope.

Chart 1: Finding the general area in the sky

Does the constellation Monoceros look like a unicorn to you? Looks more like a pterodactyl to me!

Image of the Rosette Nebula with objects from the Space Walk labeled. Note that you will not see anywhere near this level of nebulosity and it will appear gray, if you can see it at all. As always, a darker sky helps tremendously.

Chart 2: Galaxy view of the main objects.

Chart adapted from Our Galaxy 2.0.

Galaxy UGC 3459 challenge. For telescopes 10 to 12 inches or larger and a nice dark sky.